5 Marketing Questions Answered for Small Business Owners
Marketing can be fun (most of the time), but it can also be confusing. Should I be worried my follower count isn’t growing? Are email newsletters dead? How can I refresh my brand on a small budget? We pulled the top five questions we hear from small business owners below and gave our insights.
Q: Where do I find content ideas?
A: Embrace A.I. for what it is… but also use your team for inspiration.
Even us creatives find the well dry from time to time. Developing fresh content every week or month, especially when you’re working in the business 24/7 is exhausting. That’s when tools like ChatGPT are really helpful. As long as you have the patience to practice with prompts you can brainstorm 10-20 new ideas in just a matter of seconds. Not all will be slam dunks, but we find that combining a few ideas, or using one or two as jumping off points helps us overcome the mental hurdle of starting at a blank page.
If you don’t love the idea of using AI (and you have plenty of reasons to feel that way), your team is likely a rich and untapped resource. Ask them what type of content they want to see. Ask them if they have any interesting stories or recent team events/photos that are worth sharing with your followers. When you begin to ask and look for content in places, you’ll find there are resources everywhere.
Q: Should I be concerned my follower count on Facebook and Instagram isn’t growing?
A: As of May 21, 2024 - no.
In the spring, industry insiders shared that follower count on Facebook and Instagram mean less than they ever have before. Although we’ve been trending in this direction for a while now, it has become clear that more followers does NOT mean more reach or more engagement. Previously, accounts that had a larger follower count were typically “pushed” more often than small brands on social media. This encouraged people to grow their following, even if it meant inviting all 568 of your “friends” to like the page. Today, Facebook and Instagram are expected to promote content regardless of your follower count. We assume this is to backtrack from the popularity contest that they have always not-so-quietly promoted.
Q: Should I have an email newsletter?
A: Yes, because if used right, it will bring you closer to your ideal audience.
Yeah, we know what you might be thinking: “But don’t people have enough emails in their inbox? I don’t want to get lost in the noise.” The truth is, if people are on your email newsletter list, they should already have some sort of relationship with you. Maybe they are a current or former client. You can’t control who sees your content on social media (we all know the algorithm gods are fickle) and you definitely can’t control a specific message meant for part of your audience. If you have a service or product launch that you know part of your audience will really care about (and maybe another part won’t), be sure to segment your email list to include a direct message to those people. It is a much more targeted marketing arrow than a full blast on social media.
Q: How can I create videos if I hate being on camera?
A: Most people hate being on camera! But you can still create videos through animated graphics and/or photo slideshows.
This one we stumbled across when posting for a client. A few months back, we couldn’t figure out why our Instagram “posts” were not showing up on the regular feed. It’s because the platform considered our animated slideshow of photos to be a video. And, to be fair, it was an MP4 so technically it was a video. But in our heads we were defining video as live people speaking. For now, we are considering this a win for those of us who aren’t ready to get in front of the camera. Get the reach and benefit of a video without having to turn on your camera. Just make sure you save any slideshows or moving graphics as an MP4 versus a JPG or PDF and you’re good to go!
Q: How do I refresh my brand without completely redoing my name and logo?
A: All it takes is a targeted creative paintbrush on what you already have.
All brands need a little refresh every now and then. There are several ways that you can refresh your brand without needing to start completely from scratch. Here are a few low-budget options:
Create - or highlight - your services with new names or icons. This comes in especially helpful when you are trying to stand apart from your competitors who have similar services. Maybe you have always had “Bookkeeping Services” as part of your offering, but rename it to “Book Balancing 101” and suddenly your same service has new sex appeal.
Add more color. It’s likely you have one or two main colors for your brand. But what about complementary colors? These may be different hues to the colors you already have, or they might be colors that you would find on the other side of the color wheel. (🤓 Nerd Fact: This is actually more science than art - the color wheel was invented in 1666 by Isaac Newton, who mapped the color spectrum onto a circle). Check out this interactive color wheel from Canva to help you get started.
Hire a photographer and get new shots from around the office. Even if most of the people (and space) is the same, aim for new angles or more relaxed/candid images. You can update your website and social media pages - and maybe some print collateral while you’re at it.
Have more questions? Our team has decades of combined experience and we always have an answer for you (because even if we don’t… we’re going to research it). Contact us today or learn more about our consulting services and how we can help you turn the next page of your small business.